M4A3 (76) HVSS just off the boat

[scottie3158]

Jakko,
A very different and interesting build.

 

[JR]

Who wants something simple , certainly not you Jakko.

 

[adt70hk]

Looking good Jakko!

John couldn't have put it better!

Keep up the good work.

Andrew

 

[Jakko]

Who wants something simple , certainly not you Jakko.

Hahaha

Truth is, I do want something simple to build … the problem is that I keep getting it wrong

 

[Jakko]

Suspension units with tie-down brackets that were bolted onto the front and rear bogies for transport overseas:



These are just some 4 mm strip with bolt heads and holes added. The bit that folds over the top is just some more strip glued in place, then filed and scraped round so it looks like a bent piece of steel.

I also added some tiny bump stops to two of the units, because the front and rear arms on the tank had these, but they were only visible at front right and rear left, because they were on one side of the arms only.

For the rear deck, I made one of the two large wooden crates into which loose items were packed:



Unfortunately, I had estimated its size wrong at first (the problem with having to work from just a few photos) so I glued 1.5 mm card to one side and the bottom, then had to file everything flat again. The waterproof sheet on top is 0.1 mm plastic “card” (Tamiya Pla-Paper that I’ve had for over thirty years), since this can be folded just fine when soaked in liquid cement.

 

[Jakko]

Commander’s hatch and gunner’s sight are now taped up. It’s almost entirely speculative, because I can’t find photos that show how the turret roof was actually waterproofed. (Ignore the pencilled lines, I had put those on because I initially intended to tape up that whole area, but realised it is probably far too much and covers all kinds of things that I doubt would need waterproofing.)

I also cut off the loader’s hatch springs and the lugs they attach to, because in a photo of 105 mm Shermans, it was clear the springs were outside the tape. I therefore fashioned replacement attachments on the hatch from a bent strip of aluminium: on the real tank these were upside-down U-shapes, and though they were welded directly to the hatch and didn’t have that strip, that will be out of sight under the tape so I opted for making them easier and stronger to attach to the model.

 

[stillp]

Well, as usual I've learned something from this build. I'd always thought that "duct tape" was so called because of its use for sealing joints in ducts, and "duck tape" was a corruption of that, but I hadn't realised that duck tape came first, meaning a strip of duck fabric. I also didn't realise it had been around so long, if I'd thought about waterproofing tanks for shipment (which I hadn't!) I'd have expected them to use Denso tape, or maybe strips of fabric coated with Cosmoline.
Thanks Jakko!
Pete

 

[Si Benson]

Well, as usual I've learned something from this build. I'd always thought that "duct tape" was so called because of its use for sealing joints in ducts, and "duck tape" was a corruption of that, but I hadn't realised that duck tape came first, meaning a strip of duck fabric. I also didn't realise it had been around so long, if I'd thought about waterproofing tanks for shipment (which I hadn't!) I'd have expected them to use Denso tape, or maybe strips of fabric coated with Cosmoline.
Thanks Jakko!
Pete

I am also guilty of assuming the duck/duct tape thing....for air sealing ducts! Every day is a school day!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking great now Jakko. That’s plus one on duck tape as well......

 

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
Looks great. A real test of patience. I agree with Tim - your trademark meticulous research.
I'm sure that paint will stick to the tape. Will you have to paint all the taped areas a different colour to the body?
Jim

 

[Jakko]

Well, as usual I've learned something from this build. I'd always thought that "duct tape" was so called because of its use for sealing joints in ducts, and "duck tape" was a corruption of that

I was long under the impression it was that way round too This was not helped by people saying things like, “It’s called duck tape because water slides off it like off a duck” … Then I learned that duck is a certain fabric weave, and in fact derives from Dutch doek (pronounced, more or less, as “dook”) that just means “cloth” or “fabric”.

Thanks Jakko!

You’re welcome

Looks great. A real test of patience.

It’s the having to cut the strips that I find most tiresome. I really should have bought a roll of 1.5 mm wide tape before starting this.

I agree with Tim - your trademark meticulous research.

Thanks

I'm sure that paint will stick to the tape. Will you have to paint all the taped areas a different colour to the body?

I’m hoping it will, with the superglue smeared all over it. I think Steven was right that it might flake off otherwise — just look at how it behaves when you pull masking tape off a model.

As for the colour, I’m in luck there. On the real tanks, they sprayed a coat of par-al-ketone over all the tape and surrounding areas, as well as most of the suspension. This was a semigloss black stuff that (somewhat surprisingly to me) is apparently still in widespread use, especially for waterproofing or conserving aircraft. In other words, all I have to do is load semigloss black into my airbrush and spray it none too neatly so it covers all the tape and more Like this:



This photo comes from an interesting page about building tanks and shipping them overseas.

 

[Tim Marlow]

There you go Jakko....

Meet the determined woman who invented duct tape

The iconic product has been around for 75 years. Learn about the "aha" moment that sparked the idea for its creation, the U.S. president who pushed it forward—and how Johnson & Johnson helped bring it to market.

www.jnj.com

 

[Jakko]

Today, I sprayed Tamiya olive drab over parts of the lower hull, the suspension bogies and the wheels:



I don’t normally do this, preferring to spray the whole model at once, but in this case I felt I needed to, so that when I later spray black over parts of the model, any areas I miss will at least be OD.

The tape needs more work, though. I also sprayed the tape under the air exhaust as a test:



As this shows, the seams between the pieces are too distinct, so I’ll need to think of something to smear over all of it so they’re less visible, without obscuring them altogether.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking good Jakko. How about a coating of PVA for the tape?

 

[adt70hk]

Coming on nicely Jakko!

 

[Jakko]

Thanks

I was thinking of PVA too, but I’m not sure it’ll hold up well over time. Elsewhere I’ve been advised to use thinned putty, but I prefer something straight from a tube/bottle/whatever so I don’t have to worry about getting the consistency right.

 

[Tim Marlow]

I know what you mean regarding PVA, it may curl over time, especially as the tape isn’t absorbent. Not my best suggestion then
Another idea is gesso. It’s a primer so should stick nicely.......never tried it though.....only other idea is one of the Mr primer range, perhaps the 1000 one?

 

[Neil Merryweather]

how about clear dope, as used on tissue paper for R/C aircraft?

 

[Jakko]

I have some Mr. Surfacer, 500 and 1000 as I recall, so maybe that would work. Gesso is an art material, right? That would require me to go into town and buy probably a hundred times what I’ll use in my life

A thought just hit me, though: acrylic gel, maybe? I have some of that without texture, it might just work.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
Very interesting regarding the "black stuff". Would a simple brushed on coat of matt varnish work on the tape???
Jim